A Missouri Love Story

When a young officer newly graduated from West Point met the oldest daughter of a gruff Missouri slaveowner, farmer and land speculator, it was love at first sight. Ulysses Grant and Julia Dent courted at her family farm, White Haven, until he was called away to the Mexican War. Secretly engaged, Ulysses wrote tender letters to Julia between daring exploits in battle. On his return, they were married. Ulysses’ military career stagnated and after a miserable period of separation while he was stationed on the West Coast, Ulysses resigned to join Julia at White Haven. Jim Erwin tells the story of their early life, their courtship, and their life in Missouri before the Civil War. Ulysses and Julia shared a civilian life marked by ambiguities-some successes, some failures, an uneasy relationship with her father and his enslaved persons, and with the enslaved persons Ulysses himself hired and owned.

Jim Erwin practiced law in St. Louis for 38 years. He is the author or co-author of eight books on various local history subjects, including the Civil War in Missouri, steamboat disasters, and 200 years of notorious crimes in Missouri. His latest book (with his wife Vicki) is Ulysses and Julia Grant’s Missouri Love Story, published by the History Press in 2025. They have not written a book about movies made in Missouri, but they would like to.